“Lola Artôt de Padilla was the daughter of the famous Belgian (mezzo-)soprano Désirée Artôt (1835 - 1907) and the Spanish baritone Mariano Padilla y Ramos (1842 - 1906). Her real name was Dolores de Padilla. She studied exclusively with her mother and made her début in a concert in Paris. She toured in Scandinavia and Poland, then in 1902 she made her début in Thomas’ MIGNON at the Hoftheater Wiesbaden. She sang at the Komische Oper Berlin from 1905 to 1908. She created Juliet in Delius’ opera A VILLAGE ROMEO AND JULIET. In 1909 she appeared as Zerlina at the Berliner Hofoper and she stayed there until 1927. She created several rôles: Gänsemagd in Humperdinck’s KÖNIGSKINDER, Octavian, the Composer in ARIADNE AUF NAXOS and Busoni’s TURANDOT! She made many guest appearances on German and Dutch stages. She was a much admired singer in Scandinavia.

Lola Artôt de Padilla is a very fine lyric soprano of a pure and sweet color. Most of the recorded arias are sung in German but she sings them with perfect legato; the tone is superbly carried on the breath. She also recorded some duets with Karl Jörn and Björn Talén. Although she is completely neglected today, during her time she was one of the most acclaimed and celebrated singers in Berlin.”

- Andrea Shum-Binder, subito-cantabile

“[Truesound] transfers have been an absolute revelation to me….Amazingly, Christian Zwarg has managed to unlock the sound of these recordings in such a way as to present [voices] such as I have never heard before. Here the sound has a sheen and glow which is quite beautiful. It is as if an old masterpiece painting has been cleaned and restored, allowing rays of brilliant light to emerge….”